[novice_alto]

Originally Posted by fighterace

Is this in Chhattisgarh?

This is in Eastern Sikkim. Placed called Reshi khola. Sadly this road does not exist anymore. This resort now needs to be accessed on foot from another side.

[unni246]

Originally Posted by Iksvaku

Maruti Suzuki Alto Lx: Model Year 2004: 1,17,603km and Going Strong!


As mentioned at the start, the engine has really become responsive, smooth and flexible. I have noticed a perceptible difference after the 1,00,000 kilometre service. In the city, this means I can shift up at lower revolutions. On the highway, this means a greater ease in reaching higher speeds. I drive regularly at 130kmph now (against 120kmph earlier) and, with favourable conditions (such as a long empty stretch) can even touch 150kmph without pressing the accelerator to the limit.

That this is not a speedometer error can be vouched by the speed at which we zip by other cars. This brings up an amusing side-note: quite often, when we breeze by a much more powerful and bigger car (which is almost all other cars on the highway), the driver gets insulted and suddenly, in the rear view mirror, I see him shifting gears and coming after me. I always let such people overtake yet rare has been the case when they have been able to stay ahead, probably because, even if their cars are far superior, they are not comfortable driving at the speeds my Alto and I do. They are normal people!

Great Review Iksvaku!!
Never really came across such an in depth review on an Alto, though its a Common Man's car in India. Feels straight from the Heart.
I have always enjoyed driving one, though the K10 feels a bit more powerful and more refined when Compared.
I am quite surprised too that you have kept one for such long in today's world where people often get BORED with even higher performance vehicles over a period of 3-5 years !!

Well I would indeed like to quote on the above comments of yours however, as I guess the speeds mentioned by you on Highways are quite dangerous for an ALTO.
When you compare yourself with other Cars / Drivers, you should remember that most of them could be travelling in a Safe Car and by SAFE I mean the ABS, EBD & Airbags which surely is a challenging department in an ALTO. Hence I request you to always be a Safe driver for your own Safety as well as your Family & others on the Raod.
Indian Roads are never safe at Speeds above 100, even all Expressways!
Wish You more happy miles with your Alto...

[Iksvaku]

spyder_p8: If you read the review fully, you will realise that I have pointed out the negative points of the car as well.

shebin: I agree completely about lack of safety at high speeds. I have emphasised that.

Deepak K Gupta: I am with you on the design appeal of the new Alto and AltoK10.

fighterace: I have crossed a fresh landslide in Western Bhutan in an old Maruti800 too, which was an office car in my Siliguri branch in the late nineties. Other cars were stuck on either side.

unni246: Of course, the AltoK10 has the better engine. It was not available when I bought mine, else I would definitely have opted for it. I also agree with you that the Alto is not a safe car at speeds above 100kmph. I would like to repeat that if you are not able to ‘feel’ the car on the road, to the extent that you can anticipate when the car is about to lose grip, you should not be attempting such speeds. Additionally, at speeds above 100kmph, you should drive as if you do not have brakes – which means acute concentration for meticulous planning and heightened sense of what can happen at every moment!

Once again, thank you all for taking the trouble to read the review and comment on it!

[psispace]

Excellent review of your car Iksvaku.

My 2001 Alto VX stayed with me till 2014 and ran 125000km. I sold it last year with a very heavy heart.
I can vouch for its robustness, although being a small car.

Driven sanely, it definitely can be a good highway car too. During my student days I have done a lot of Bangalore - Thrissur, Chennai - Thrissur, Bangalore - Chennai runs in it. Although it was immature and irresponsible of me, I have taken it to the max speed of 160 at that time. It was on the Coimbatore bypass stretch which was the only place this was possible at that time.

The in gear max speeds of the F10D engine are - 30km/hr 1st gear, 60 km/hr 2nd gear and a tall 3rd gear rated at 120km/hr. (So it may be possible for the 800 to achieve 100 - 110 in 3rd.)
I did not believe the 3rd gear rating and I tested it in my car. I did achieve that speed (120) on the speedometer. ( Not recommended. Do it on a regular basis and you will destroy the engine and transmission)

The danger at these speeds is the constant wind buffeting which destabilizes the car due to its light kerb weight. Further, at these speeds, your tyres have virtually no traction. A sudden braking at that speed can be disastrous. Without ABS, you will need the presence of mind to pump the brakes. If the wheels are turned even a small degree, or the road is banked, it'll go for a spin.

I think 80 is the max reasonably safe speed in this car, maybe push to 100. (on straight, light traffic road, with good long range visibility)

Drive safe.
Here's wishing you another 100,000 problem free kms with your car

[Iksvaku]

psispace: Thank you for your observations. Will it really go another 1,00,000 kilometres? My service adviser is stating 1,50,000 kilometres as the limit. On your highway driving comment, I did not mention that above 80kmph I always drive with the windows closed and the air-conditioner on. Creation of a sealed capsule increases stability significantly.

[Deepak K Gupta]

Today I had the clutch overhauled in my Alto LXi. It was not slipping but it used to judder when hot and under load. MASS has charged me for clutch and bearing and also added some Rs.285/- for 'fuel injector cleaner'!! I asked the SA why on earth would he need this fuel injector cleaner for changing the clutch and he replied -'to clean the clutch housing'.I do not think that one would need this to clean anything expect injectors with this spray can. I paid the bill and decided to take this up with Maruti. Has anyone faced this before.

[Rodie09]

Hi Deepak,

If you do not mind, can you please share the cost and details of the clutch work. I am also observing a bit of juddering in my alto but I feel my FNG is perhaps more pricier than Maruti service. He is quite famous one even on TBHP, and very knowledgable too - but EXPENSIVE.

Thanks.

[Deepak K Gupta]

Sure thing Rodie09,
1. Clutch set including clutch plate and pressure plate 1898.10
2. Clutch release bearing 552.38
3. Clutch cable assy 222.86
4. Adhesive 21.83
5. Fuel Injector Cleaner 285.71
6. Labour charges 1160.00
Total including VAT and Service charge on above 4435.00

[psispace]

Originally Posted by Iksvaku

psispace: Thank you for your observations. Will it really go another 1,00,000 kilometres? My service adviser is stating 1,50,000 kilometres as the limit.

Service technicians will advise selling car by 85km or 5 years.

However, it can definitely last longer. How long depends on how you maintain the car and how much you are willing to spend on its upkeep.
I always serviced at reputed workshops. eg. Popular Automobiles in Kerala.
I always ensured they used original parts.

I had needed an engine overhaul at 100k. Perhaps because I used a K&N performance filter. After overhaul it ran like brand new of course.
Issues you can face are with the body and chassis.
The lower arms and strut braces of the suspension, steering rod and drive shafts are the ones that required regular replacement.
After 100k, the engine mount had rust in it and required refurbishment.

Just make sure the water channels in the car are not blocked



As you would know, the channels are just on the outer border of the roof with a plastic beeding. These beedings can dislodge / displace and affect water drainage. This can lead to water pooling and rusting in those areas



These channels drain water via a channel on the side of the hatch in the rear and via the windscreen and a channel under the bonnet. Make sure these rubber / plastic beedings are intact. Even beedings around the window edges provide protection against water.
When in Kerala, I had to replace these almost every 2 years.

I am sure your service center might have offered antirust coating for the underbody too. I would recommend that too if you haven't availed it.

Keep her running.

[Iksvaku]

Dear TeamBHPians, I apologise for the delay in responding. I was on an extensive touring schedule and also undertook a personal challenge to climb the Himalayas (a week before the earthquake, fortunately) so I have been disconnected for a while.

Deepak K Gupta: I do not understand the reason either. Did you get an answer from Maruti?

psispace: Thank you for such a detailed brief. The photos made the points really clear! I have a problem now with the left doors - they have started rusting at the bottom. I will probably have to change them in due course.

A point occurred to me recently while looking at some advertisements of cars costing more than 10 lakh rupees: one of the features advertised was emergency unlocking of doors. A few months ago I was driving to Salem and had to do emergency braking for an around-the-corner speed breaker (how can a highway have a speed breaker around a corner?) and all the doors unlocked! They re-locked automatically as I accelerated after crossing the speed breaker. So my 10-year 3.5 lakh rupee Alto with an equally old Autocop system offers a feature that is now being advertised by far higher end cars!

[Swapnil_Alto]

A small query. The VXI type mirrors can't be installed in a STD model? I've a '04 Alto in which we installed AC later on. I went to install these VXI type mirrors. The guys in the shop told me that the internally adjustable stick can't be fitted in my alto. I've to manually set the mirrors everytime I want to change the view. Will the mirrors work fine if I install it without the internally adjustable stick?

[asit.kulkarni93]

Originally Posted by Swapnil_Alto

A small query. The VXI type mirrors can't be installed in a STD model? I've a '04 Alto in which we installed AC later on. I went to install these VXI type mirrors. The guys in the shop told me that the internally adjustable stick can't be fitted in my alto. I've to manually set the mirrors everytime I want to change the view. Will the mirrors work fine if I install it without the internally adjustable stick?

I really have no clue what the guys in your shop are trying to say. We had the vx 1.1 from 2003-06 and after seeing the stick adjustable mirrors on our car a relative wanted the same to be installed on his Lxi. The fellows at Sai service did that for him. A friend who happens to own an lxi 2006 with body coloured bumpers.etc. has the older alto vxi type mirrors as a factory fitment on his car. So I find no reason why that can't be done. Pls check with some other SVC.

OT- wish I could something similar for my moms type II wagonr. The left RVM automatically closes after crossing 85kmph. :P

[Swapnil_Alto]

Originally Posted by asit.kulkarni93

I really have no clue what the guys in your shop are trying to say. We had the vx 1.1 from 2003-06 and after seeing the stick adjustable mirrors on our car a relative wanted the same to be installed on his Lxi. The fellows at Sai service did that for him. A friend who happens to own an lxi 2006 with body coloured bumpers.etc. has the older alto vxi type mirrors as a factory fitment on his car. So I find no reason why that can't be done. Pls check with some other SVC.

OT- wish I could something similar for my moms type II wagonr. The left RVM automatically closes after crossing 85kmph. :P

Thanks a lot Asit. My Alto is basically a Standard variant which didn't come with AC at first. I was thinking whether that's the problem or not. I'll check with the Maruti Authorised Workshop this time.

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by Swapnil_Alto

A small query. The VXI type mirrors can't be installed in a STD model? I've a '04 Alto in which we installed AC later on. I went to install these VXI type mirrors. The guys in the shop told me that the internally adjustable stick can't be fitted in my alto. I've to manually set the mirrors everytime I want to change the view. Will the mirrors work fine if I install it without the internally adjustable stick?

There is no reason why the mirrors can't be installed. The door is essentially the same in STD or VXi, and as a matter of fact, we had done this as a DIY on a friend's Alto LX way back in 2007.
Just get the required parts and I can help you with the installation.

[PNTLovesNano]

A brief summary! My 2011 Alto completed 60K and I got it serviced today morning. I have driven it 4 times to Chennai, and places such as Ballari, Sandur, Mantralaya, Tirupathi, Hyderabad, Sonda, Dharwad, Poona, Aurangabad, and quite a few others. I think about 20K of it has been on highways, at least. After 20K, I have switched to LPG and ran about 40.5K on LPG. Of course, I want to write a detailed report of it. But thats not happening anytime soon.


I regularly do the general service at 5K (costs about 3-4 K) and oli-change service at 10K kms which costs about 6K. At 45K km, the factory fitted tyres gave away and then replaced them with Bridgestone tyres. That cost me about 10K. Now, at 60 K, the clutch went kaput and replaced them and the cost was 12K for the overall bill. Is this normal or I am paying higher?